Typewriting machine



A. G. Fl KUROWSKI. TYPEWRITING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 6', 1920.

Patented Sept. 12, 1922.

. Patented Sept. 12, 1922.

' UNITED STATES".

, 1,428,858 PATENT orrics.

ALFRED G. F. KURowsKI, or BR-ooKLYmivnw YORK, ASSIGNOR r UNnERwoon TYPEWRITER COMPANY, on NEW YORK, 1\1.Y., A CORPORATION or DELAWARE.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

Application filed October 6, 1920. Serial No. 415,015.

To (LZZLUZLOWL it may concern Be it known that I, ALFRED G. F. KURowsin, a citizen of the United States, residingin Brooklyn Borough, in the county of Kings, city and'State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Typewriting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to safety devices, and its object is to prevent printing on the platen by the types during the time that case-shifting operations are in progress.

A feature of the invention relates to the provision of adevice which is operative during case-shifting movements to prevent printing by the types, but which is ineffective when the parts concerned in the caseshifting operations are in either of their eXt-remepositions. I

' A further feature of the invention relates to the provision of locking means so arranged that the usual line-locking mechanism is utilized to prevent operation of the keys during movements of the case-shifting means.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear. I

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation'of a typewriting machine of the usual Underwood construction, showing my improvements ap plied thereto.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the mechanism.

F igure 3 is a detail, showing the parts in a different position from that shown in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings. key-1evers 1 are adapted, through the medium of intermediate levers 2. to cause type-bars 3 to be moved upwardly and rearwardly against the front face of a platen 4. .The typebars 3 carry types 5 and 6 for printing lower and upper case characters, respectively, and, in order that either set of characters may be selected. the usual caseshifting means are provided. In the part-icular machine to which my improvements are applied, which machine may be of the usual Underwood type, the platen is-supported in a carriage, which carriage has a roller 7 running upon a guide rod 8, which guide rod is adapted to be engaged by rocking members 9. pivoted at 10, the rocking movements of 9 being controlled by the m-ents.

usual caseshift keys, one of which is shown at 11 in the drawings. Either one of the case-shift keys is adapted to rock thememhers 9 throught-he medium of an upwardly extending finger 12.

In order to prevent any printing action of the types during the time the platen is being shifted. I provide means for looking said types during movements of the case-shifting means, and I do this preferably through the medium of the usual linelocking mechanism. This line-locking mechanism in the Underwood typewriter consists of a rod 13 pivoted in the lower front portion of the machine, to which rod is fastened a rocking lever 14, one at each end of the rod. The upper ends of the rock- 'ing-levers are connected by a key-locking bar 15. and a spring 16 is provided which normally tends to move the locking bar 15 away from projecting lugs 17 carried by the key-levers.

In orderto utilize this mechanism for the purpose of the present invention. I provide a connection between the case-shifting means and the bar 15 whereby the same is moved under the lugs 17 during case-shifting move- To accomplish this, 1 preferably modify one of the rocking members 9 by providing an extension 18 thereon, which has a pin-and-slot connection with a lever 19 pivoted at 20. This lever 19 is provided with a cam-member 21 adapted to engage a pin 22 on one of the rocking levers 14, the cam-member 21 being so shaped that it ongages the pin 22 during the time the caseshifting parts are being moved from one extreme position to the other; but said cammember does not bear against the pin 22 when the case-shifting means occupies either extreme position. It will thus be seen that the operative cannot strike a key and print on the platen before the carriage is in its proper place, either in upper or lower case.

The usual line-locking bar 15 is normally out of the paths of the typeke v-levers, but is moved into the paths of said levers to lock the same temporarily while the platen shifting the platen, and a cam-device 21 connected to said shift-rail member for both setting and releasing the lock 15 during each swing of the shift-rail member, and a returning spring 16 for said lock, whereby the lock is returned by said spring to normal position at the end of each stroke of the shift-rail member in either direction.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

.Having thus described my invention, claim: i

1. In a typewriting machine, the com- 'bination with a carriage, a platemtypes having upper and lower case characters thereon, key-levers for driving said types to print, a lock to engage said key-levers, said lock forming part of a l1ne-loclrmg mechanism and normally out of the paths of said levers. and case-shitting'means for determining whether said types shall print on said platen in upper or lowercase, ot a cam-member movable by said. case-shifting means and effective on said lock during caseshit'ting movements, to move it into the paths of said levers, but releasing said lock, to permit the latter to return to normal position, when said case-shitting means is in either of its extreme positions.

In a typewriting machine, the com bination with a carriage, a platen, types having upper and lower case characters thereon, key-levers for driving said types to print, a lock to engage said key-levers, said lock forming part of a line-locling mechanism and normally out of the paths 0t said levers, and case-shitting means for determining whether said types shall print on said platen 1n upper or lower case, of a to permit the latter to return to normal position, when said case-shifting means is in either of its extreme positions; said caseshitting means including a hinged shittrail member for shittingthe platen, and

said cam-member being connected to said shift-rail member for both setting and releasing the lock during each swing of the shitt-railmember, and a returning spring for saidlock, whereby the lock is returned by said spring to normal position at the endoteach stroke of the shift-rail member in either direeitoii. i

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination with .5. platen, types having upperand lower case characters thereon kc -levers I u L o 7 v 1: for driving; said types to print, a lock ior said key-levers, said lock comprising a pair ot rocking; levers, a rod connecting said levers adapted to be moved to prevent operatlonot said types, and case-shitting means for de-" tel-mining whether said types shall print on said platen in upper or lower case, of a pin on one ot said docking levers, and a camm-en'iber adapted to engage said pin tofmove said. lock to position to prevent operation of said types during movements of said caseshiitting means, said cam-member so shaped as to engage said pm during the shifting movements of said case-shitting means, but ineffective in the extreme positions otsaid case-shitting means.

ALFRED F. KUROlVSKI. Witnesses: i

' Enrri-r B. LIBBEY,

JENNIEP. THORNE. 

